The present invention relates to a firing indicator device for a projectile, and in particular, to a single-use firing indicator device that can be secured to a rifle grenade.
A firing indicator device displays the firing status of a projectile, i.e., whether or not the projectile has been armed. Under certain circumstances, projectiles do not explode when fired, and thus remain in an armed condition when they reach the ground and are capable of exploding if triggered. As a result, such munitions are dangerous to handle.
A number of devices have been disclosed for displaying the firing status of a projectile to prevent users from handling the projectile while it is still armed. For example, the arming safety device disclosed in French patent 2,583,869 includes a series of small windows made of transparent plastic material through which a rotor having segments of different colors can be viewed. The arming status of the device is determined from the color displayed.
Further, French patent 2,660,747 discloses a projectile having a bullet trap that displays the firing status of the projectile. The bullet trap swells, thereby causing a peg to extend through a bore that is disposed in a radial direction of the sleeve tube.
In addition, a projectile having a device for displaying its firing status that is disposed in its empennage (tail section), as disclosed in French patent 2 660 748, is known. According to a first embodiment, the pressure of the propellant gases perforates a pad placed in an orifice or ejects a peg. According to a second embodiment, the departure of the projectile upon firing causes the sleeve tube to become displaced relative to the empennage, which uncovers a colored band. The ejection of the peg or the appearance of the colored band signals the user that the projectile has already been fired.
In the devices described above, however, machining of or adding parts to the projectile is required, which results in increased costs. In addition, machining orifices in a projectile can lead to a pressure loss, or can make the peripheral part of the bullet trap more fragile and thereby cause a decrease in the reliability of the projectile.
In addition, the display devices of the prior art are relatively small and can therefore be partly concealed by splashed mud, dust, snow, etc. As a result, the reliability of these devices is decreased in many frequently encountered field conditions.